Its authors said using the right language could reduce anxiety in women in labour, cutting the rates of complications.

The advice includes avoiding discouraging language Credit:
BMJ

Instead of using the term “good girl,” medics are asked to say, “you're doing really well” to encourage a women during labour.

They are also asked to avoid the use of the phrase “big baby” in case it makes women anxious, and not to talk about “foetal distress”.

Instead larger infants should be described as “healthy” while foetal distress should be described as “changes in the baby’s heart rate pattern,” they state.

The advice says midwives and obstetricians should never address the pregnant woman as a “she” when they are discussing the situation at hand.

Instead, they should always refer to her by her first name, the guide says.

Professor Andrew Weeks, from the International Maternal Health Care at the University of Liverpool, Natalie Mobbs, a medical student at Liverpool, and Catherine Williams, a committee member of National Maternity Voices, drew up the new tips.